Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B (Text & Video Examples)

The content of this post is presented for cultural, folkloric, and aesthetic purposes.

I consider fraternity & sorority chants to be cultural artifacts which deserve to be collected, preserved, and studied. I also believe that fraternity & sorority songs and chants should only be recited and/or performed by those persons who are affiliated with the specific organization that is associated with that particular chant.

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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS CHANT
"Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" is a Zeta Phi Beta sorority chant/song. I've found several online text versions & videos of this song as it was performed by different chapters of this Black Greek lettered organization [BGLO]. While these versions weren't exactly the same, there are consistent lyrics that are found in each of example of this chant. Furthermore, each of these versions of Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" have the same call & response structure. Judging from the videos, members of the sorority 'sing' "Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" while performing step and/or stroll movements to the chant's moderately fast tempo beat.

"Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" includes references to Zeta Phi Beta's [also known as the "Zetas"] sorority colors (blue and white) and other Black Greek lettered sororities' colors (pink and green - Alpha Kappa Alpha [AKA], crimson and creme [also given as red and white] - Delta Sigma Theta [DST], and blue and gold - Sigma Gamma Rho [Sgrho]. Some versions of "Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" also include references to some of those rival sororities' signature calls, and/or include references to Zeta Phi Beta's brother group, the BGLO fraternity Phi Beta Sigma [PBS; also known as the "Sigmas"], whose colors are also blue and white.

I'm not sure when the "Every Beat of My Heart Is Crying Z Phi B" chant was first composed. If anyone remembers this chant from the late 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, or 1990s please share that information with me and other blog readers in the comment section below.

My guess is that the Gladys Knight & The Pips' hit 1972 R&B song "With Every Beat Of My Heart" was the inspiration for this sorority chant. Although I don't read or write music, it seems to me that the words "every beat of my heart" sound the same in both the R&B song and that featured sorority chant. Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUM4kNLoDqY for a video of that song.

EXAMPLE #1: THE BEAT OF MY HEART
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
I looked to my left and who stands supreme
The blue and the white; not the pink & the green.
I said my sorors? Yeah?
Did you heart it? Hear what?
The sound of those AKAs
I said they're hurting my head with their
A-a-kin sound
I said "Skee-Wee"
As they shake all around
With their hands in the air
Thinking they're all that
But they don't understand
Pink and Green don't even match.
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
I look up a head and who's standing bold
The blue and the white and not the blue and the gold
I said my sorors? Yeah?
Did you hear it? Hear what?
The sound of those SGRho's
Shhhh! [sound of crickets]
No matter what we do
No matter where we go
We never hear a sound
From those SGRho
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
I look to my right tell me who did I see?
The blue and the white not the crimson and cream
I said my sorors. Yeah?
My sexy sorors. Yeah?
The sound of the DSTs
I said "Whoooooops"
They pledged the wrong sorority
With that mistaken sound
With that darned geometry
And to make matters worse
They used to be AKA
DST is with them
And they're there today
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
The beat of my heart is crying ZPhiB
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
Because everybody know we are the best sorority
I said my sorors. Yeah?
My sexy sorors. Yeah?
We sound sooo good today.
But then a Zeta lady sounds good everyday.

-snip-
The portions of this chant - such as "I said my sorors? Yeah? Did you hear it? Hear what?" - when the leader calls to the rest of the group and the group responds reminds me of the beginning structure of foot stomping cheers, only in reverse (in foot stomping cheers the group calls a person by name and that person responds.) Click this page of my cocojams website http://cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0 for information and examples of foot stomping cheers. The cheer "Introduce Yourself" is a good example of the exchanges between the group addressing a specifically named person and that person initially responding with "Yeah" or "What".

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Example #2: EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART IZ CRYING Z-PHI-B
it's a call and response*
every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B
everybody knows we're the best sorority
no aka no dst
only z phi b for me
look over there and tell me who's supreme
it's the blue and the white and not the pink and the green
look over there and tell me who's ahead
its the blue and the white and not the white and the red
look over and tell me who's got soul
its the blue and white and not the blue and the gold
zeta zeta's got soul and power
we're gonna build ourselves a blue and white tower
finer womanhood is our cry
sisterly love sets the zetas on fire
rise rise rise sweet zeta 2x
look out, look out,look out, look out,ooooohh 4x
-zanalyst08; http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments=1&v=HWvrsSywB98 ; 2008 [This YouTube account has been deleted]
-snip-
"Call & response" here means that a soloist sings that line and the group repeats the exact same line.

Notice the substitution of the letter "z" for the letter "s". This is purposely done to pay tribute to the first letter of the group's name. I've noticed the same custom in the writing of other BGLOs, for instance, the substitution of the letter "k" for "c" by the fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.

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Example #3: EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART IS CRYING Z-PHI-B
Leader- Every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B
Group- Every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B
Leader- Everybody knows we're the best sorority
Group- Everybody knows we're the best sorority
Leader -Come on sisters, get on this line.
Group - Come on sisters get on this line.
Leader - Everybody knows Zeta women are fine.
Group - Everybody knows Zeta women are fine.
Leader - We got might and we got power.
Group - We got might and we got power.
Leader - We're gonna build ourselves a blue and white tower
Group - We're gonna build ourselves a blue and white tower
Leader- Finer womanhood is our cry*
Group- Finer womanhood is our cry*
Leader - Sisterly love sets the zetas on fire*
Group - Sisterly love sets the zetas on fire*
Leader - Look over there and tell me who’s supreme
Group - Look over there and tell me who’s supreme
Leader -It's the blue and the white and not the pink and the green
Group- It's the blue and the white and not the pink and the green
Leader - Look over there and tell me who's ahead
Group - Look over there and tell me who's ahead
Leader – It’s the blue and the white and not the white and the red
Group - It’s the blue and the white and not the white and the red
Leader- Look over there and tell me who's got soul
Group - Look over there and tell me who's got soul
Leader - Well it’s the blue and white and not the blue and the gold
Group - Well it’s the blue and white and not the blue and the gold
Leader - P B S and Z Phi B
Group - P B S and Z Phi B
Leader - Has to be the only true family
Group - Has to be the only true family
Leader - Every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B
Group - Every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B
Leader - Only Z Phi B for me
Group - I said only Z Phi B for me.
Leader - I said only Z Phi B for me
Group - I said only Z Phi B for me.
Leader - I said only Z Phi B for me
Group - I said only Z Phi B for me
Leader- No AKA and no DST
Group - No Aka no DST
Leader - Only Z Phi B for me
Group - I said only Z Phi B for me.
Leader – Only Z Phi B for me
Group - I said only Z Phi B for me.
Group - Rise rise rise oh Zeta
Group - Rise rise rise oh Zeta
Sorors of the blue and white [group forms circle, holds hands of persons on either side, and raises arms]
[chant ends with sorority call]
-jmarce1971 on Dec 1, 2010

-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell, 8/10/2012. *I'm uncertain about these two lines, and added what I thought were similar lines from Example #2. If those lines are incorrect, please share the correct lines by posting them in the comment section. Thanks!

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RELATED LINKS
Click http://cocojams.com/content/fraternity-and-sorority-chants for additional text examples and videos of fraternity & sorority chants. Most of these examples are from [university based] Black Greek lettered fraternities & sororities.
**
Click http://cocojams.com/content/fraternity-sorority-step-stroll-related-videos for step and stroll videos.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composer/s of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. chant "Every beat of my heart is crying Z phi B". My thanks also to those who showcased their performance of this chant on YouTube or posted the words of this chant on the internet. Thanks also to the videographers and video uploaders.

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I'm an African American mother, grandmother, & retired human services administrator. For more than forty years I have shared adapted West African stories with audiences in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area.
I have four blogspots: pancocojams, zumalayah, cocojams2, and .Civil Rights Songs. Much of the content of these blogs were previously found on my cocojams and jambalayah cultural websites. I curate all of these blogs on a voluntary basis.
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